Hurt Locker is an unusual case: a best picture that really deserved the award. The movie is largely a character study of Sergeant First Class William James (played by Jeremy Renner). When James arrives to take command of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad in Iraq, he immediately alarms the team by his eagerness to take risks. He dons his ironman suit to walk in where they would have sent the little robot. He takes the suit off when it gets in his way. They think he is an adrenaline junkie, which he is, and that his addiction to danger is likely to get them all killed, which it nearly does.
Most of the film rides on the intense drama of bomb disposal, which is tailor-made for high end action. It's not the big boom and balls of fire that build excitement, but all the tiny moments when precisely nothing happens. The film work and sound are superb.
The thing is, this strikes me as a movie intended to be anti-war. Sergeant James is not a citizen soldier, he is a happy warrior. He is at home only on the battle field. When he is back in the states next to his gorgeous wife played by Evangeline Lilly (Kate Austin in Lost), and holding his infant son, he just wants to get back in action. There is something wrong with this guy.
But if it was intended to be anti-war, it fails miserably. As most Greeks admired the Spartans but had no desire to be Spartans, so no ordinary person would want to be what Sergeant James is (except perhaps when playing a video game). But it is quite natural to admire him. His virtues are, almost entirely, military virtues; but Republics need such men now and then. This is what Achilles looked like.
I am reminded of Patton, which was definitely intended to be an anti-war film. It was hijacked by the power of the historical character and that of the actor to become a celebration of a great warrior. For most of human history, men like Patton and Sergeant James enjoyed unambiguous adulation from their fellows. Today, that adulation is mirrored by uncomfortable reserve, if not scorn. Hurt Locker gives some support to both sides of that judgment, but more to the one than the other. You don't want to miss this one.
It is Patton not Paton which was a 1970 war film about U.S. General George S. Patton...
Posted by: canistotaweb | Sunday, May 09, 2010 at 06:33 AM
Ha...that would be Patton.
Posted by: KB | Sunday, May 09, 2010 at 02:05 PM
Back in school, I'm doing so much laenring.
Posted by: Lynn | Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 10:21 PM
that, it is funny how you did without a dvd pleyar for so long. I had one and always watched movies, but circumstances changed and I got rid of it. I haven't had a dvd pleyar for ovr a year now. Guess what? My husband and I were just talking about it the other night and we decided to go out and get another one. To answer your question about movies, geez, that's hard because I love so many of them. The last one that I saw (on a plane)was Blinside. What a great movie!! Definitely a keeper. My all time favorite movies are, The Godfather (both 1 and 2), I even like Godfather 3 because of Andy Garcia . I also like The Green Mile, My Cousin Vinnie, Beaches, Thelma and Louise. ENough of that. All I can say is ENJOY!!!
Posted by: Ciimey | Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 11:35 PM
donna ryanMay 17, 2010we watched this on pay per view yerdastey .its complicated with merryl streep and alec baldwin..it was cute some scenes werent things I may have wanted to be in a room with mom on though it had an interesting ending however .its worth watching im glad I didnt pay $12.00 to see it in the movie theater though ..
Posted by: Ramela | Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 02:36 AM